SF Giants reassign 2 pitching prospects to minor league camp

Two pitchers were reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday. Sam Delaplane and Ronald Guzmán were notified that they would not be breaking camp with the SF Giants according to Evan Webeck of the Bay Area News Group.

SF Giants reassign 2 pitching prospects to minor league camp

Neither one occupied a spot on the 40-man roster, so no official roster move is required. However, the cuts do bring the total number of players in camp to 43. This consists of 31 players on the 40-man roster and 12 non-roster invitees. More than likely, at least one or two of those non-roster players will be added by the end of spring training.

Guzmán sustained a pronator strain in his pitching arm in the middle of a throw off of the mound this spring. Those injuries can be scary, but it looks like the left-handed pitcher avoided major injury as he is expected to be on the shelf for only one-to-two months.

The 28-year-old is trying his hand at pitching after spending his first nine years as a pro as a power-hitting first baseman. He will try to succeed as a two-way player, but the focus looks like it will be on pitching for now.

Guzmán flashed a mid-90's fastball with a good slider this spring as he yielded three earned runs with five strikeouts against two walks in 3.1 innings. He did not record an at-bat, which points to a sign of how the Giants view his role in 2023. For someone who had a total of 0.1 pro innings of experience on the mound prior to spring training, the lefty pitcher did not look totally new to the role.

Delaplane will join Guzmán in minor league camp. The right-handed reliever was scooped up off of waivers by the Seattle Mariners in 2021 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. He was beginning to return to the mound last year, but suffered a forearm strain after just 3.2 innings with the San Jose Giants.

The 27-year-old has posted some eye-popping numbers as a pro including a 2.56 ERA, 15.3 K/9, and a 4.61 SO/W ratio. Of course, he has pitched in just four games since the start of 2020, so Delaplane just needs to stay on the field at this point.

He pitched briefly for the Giants this spring as he allowed five earned runs on five strikeouts and four walks in 3.2 innings. Delaplane will be a name to watch as the season progresses. If he proves that he is healthy and regains his pre-2020 form, the bullpen prospect could quickly become an option for the major league bullpen. For now, both he and Guzmán will get reps in minor league camp.